AnotherTale
by A Wild Minun
Summary: (Takes place after a slight variation of the 'Exiled Queen' neutral ending where Frisk does absorb Asgore's soul.) He's already been through the Underground once before 8 years ago, so it should be okay if he came back with his adoptive brother, Andreas, right? Wrong. Follow the adventures of Frisk and Andreas as they uncover the new horror of the Underground. (HorrorTale AU)
1. The Call

**Alright, A Wild Minun here. This is more of a spur of the moment kind of story but I'm actually interested in seeing where this goes. This upload will be packaged with the prologue as well.**

 **Undertale and its respective characters are owned by Toby Fox, whilst the HorroTale AU is owned by Sour-Apple Studios. The OC, Andreas Myller is owned by myself.**

* * *

 _4 years ago..._

 _(Ring, ring...)_

 _heya, is anyone there...?_

 _well, i'll just leave a message..._

 _so... it's been a while. the queen returned, and is now ruling over the underground._

 _she's enstated a new policy..._

 _all the humans who fall here will be treated not as enemies..._

 _but as friends._

 _but people REALLY didn't like that policy._

 _because of you, not only was the king gone..._

 _but the human souls had gone missing as well..._

 _along with the lives of countless citizens._

 _nobody wanted to see that ever again, so the people started a rebellion to overthrow the queen._

 _undyne spearheaded the revolution, of course._

 _she was pretty mad after what happened to asgore._

 _she threw the queen out of the castle with her strength._

 _then she became the empress of the underground..._

 _and banished the queen back to the ruins._

 _seems like undyne's... hmm..._

 _even more vehement about destroying humanity than ASGORE..._

 _but hey! it's not that bad!_

 _she's not so lonely anymore._

 _i've been practising knock-knock jokes and telling her about the news whenever i visit the door._

 _sometimes... i even bring paps with me to talk to the queen..._

 _well, i hope things are better where you are._

 _later._

 _(click.)_


	2. Ebott and Beyond!

(Andreas' PoV)

 _click..._

"Wake up."

I stay as still as I can in bed, trying my hardest to pretend that I'm asleep. A few minutes of silence basically confirms that I've won this battle. More bedtime for me! A deep sigh was given elsewhere in the room, most likely my brother giving up on me.

"Oh well... I guess he won't be having any breakfast today..."

No breakfast!? Screw my bedtime, food is more important! I burst out of the fortress that was my bedsheets only to be met with my brother's smug grin. I've been had!

"Dammit Frisk! Why do you have to do this to me?"

"You told me to wake you early today, remember?"

I shrug absent-mindedly, why would I do something as stupid as that?

"Nope."

I said, popping the p. Frisk gave me a look that screams 'I expected no less from you' and walked towards the closet, opening it and grabbing two hiking bags.

"We're going to Mt. Ebott, Andy."

It then dawns on me, it's the first day of half-term and we had gotten permission from mum and dad to go on a hiking trip to Mt Ebott. To explore the mountain to a further extent, which Frisk claimed.

That was a lie. Frisk still had some loose strings to tie up with the Underground as he called it, which was inside the mountain. I just decided to play tag-along 'cause I kinda want to see the 'monsters' that Frisk met for myself. Hell, I might even have some luck with getting a girlfriend there!

"Ohhhhhhh yeahhhh... Whoops..."

I responded, feeling a bit embarrassed about the whole forgetting fiasco. Frisk simply nods in acknowledgement and continues on gathering supplies for the trip. We tried to go to Mt. Ebott a few years earlier but that pretty much got denied by mum, doing what mothers do best, ranting on how you're too young to go or some other crap like that.

Anyways... Its best if I actually get changed for the trip. It's not a very good idea to go out into the unknown (and the public) with just your boxers on. I grab a plain black t-shirt and a pair of jeans from the rack and flung 'em on, in record time no less! I glanced over at Frisk to see what he's placing in the bag.

Let's see... Spare clothes, I can understand why we would need that, it's not like there's gonna be a clothes store there in the Underground. Okay, what else? Hmmm... Food and water are a necessity for us if the trip takes much longer then we thought. Besides that, I can't think of anything else that we need in the bag. Satisfied with my supplies, I zipped up the bag and walked over to help Frisk.

Despite what others think, me and Frisk weren't always brothers. Frisk was adopted by mum and dad one day when they were climbing Mt. Ebott. According to them, he seemed to be in a pretty sorry state, with many burn marks and gashes all over his body. They took him home where I met him for the first time. He wasn't talkative at all for the first few months. I mean, I could understand why, being suddenly adopted by random mountain climbers isn't exactly a normal occurrence. I'm just glad that he's grown out of that shell.

Frisk, being Frisk, was filling out his bag with... uh... weird things.

Like a container full of snails. I have to ask why.

"What's the snails for Frisky?"

Frisk looks at the container, then looks at me.

"Oh, these?"

Frisk gestured at the container. I nod my head in response.

"These are a present for someone. She likes snails quite a bit."

Frisk explains with a smile, clearly thinking about someone in the Underground. Maybe he fancies her or something.

"Are you two dating or something?"

I asked, prompting one of the greatest reactions I've seen from Frisk in my entire life. His whole head lit up like a tomato for crying out loud!

"N-no! I-it's not l-like that!"

Frisk splutters out, head still red. I give him my trademark 'winning' face.

"I know, I know... Just banter."

Frisk merely sighs in frustration and zips up his bag, ready for the journey.

"Alright! Let's go."

At last. The wait is finally over. We practically blasted out of the front door after Frisk has written mum a note (dad was at work early today) and onto the front garden, where our method of transport is awaiting us.

"At least the wait meant that you would be able to drive a car now."

Frisk remarked while we placed the bags in the front of the roadster (it's a Toyota MR-2. Go figure.) and hopped in, me in the driver's seat, and set off.

(Frisk's PoV)

The journey from Hove to Ebott was quite uneventful. Andy mostly stuck to the side-roads to enjoy the scenery, although it was mostly 'plain' plains with cows and other barnyard animals scattered across them occasionally. Besides this, nothing else noteworthy occurred until arriving at the small village.

Ebott, 'Buttercup Valley', as the roadside sign would say upon arrival. It's been how long now? 8 years? Since I've seen this village and, to be frank, not much has been changed in that time period. The sleepy atmosphere still persisting with few residents to be seen outside of their homes. A stark contrast to the bustling city streets of Brighton and, to an extent, Hove.

"Alright. We're here. Welcome to Ebott!"

Andy exclaimed as he parked the car on the side, likely feeling ecstatic at the prospect of meeting the monsters of the Underground. He's quite the excitable brother, Andy, be it positive or negative. We proceeded to fetch the hiking bags from the hood of the car and walked off towards the looming mountain, Andy taking a moment to catch up after locking the convertible.

"Aren't you excited 'bout meeting the monsters again, Frisk?"

Andy inquired, most likely worried about my stoicism about the subject. We pass by a building covered with 'missing child' posters. Presumably the unfortunate victims of the Underground.

"Not in these circumstances, Andy. Do you recall the message that Sans left?"

"...No... Not really."

Figures. I sigh, pulling out the old flip phone that was given to me by Toriel.

"In short, the monsters have established a policy of killing any humans on sight, Andy. We have to be careful about what we do there and not cause too much commotion."

"Fuck... I think I woulda been better off not knowing that Frisky."

I chuckle lightly at his response as we arrive at the base of the mountain, no method of preventing people from entering present. You would think that with all those missing children that climbed the mountain, they would invest in some sort of fencing or whatnot instead of relying on long forgotten folklore, but I digress.

Finding the mountain path was not that difficult, being the only thing on the base that didn't contain the colour green, but instead a murky beige. It stuck out as much as you would expect. However, following the trail was much more of a challenge, managing to pierce through the many overgrown bushes filled with the all too familiar berries. We must be on the right path if these bushes were anything to tell us by.

"Is there any other way to enter the Underground instead of jumping down a hole and hoping for best, Frisk?"

"There is, but I think that way may be too dangerous for us to go through."

I doubt walking through an one-way barrier into the throne room of a very vengeful, spear-wielding fish woman would end well.

A few more minutes of navigating the pathway through the many trees and thickets ensued with the both of us too focused on finding the cave mouth to start any further conversation until Andy halted his movements.

"I think I can see the cave up ahead Frisk!"

Andy shouted as if I was half a kilometre away from his location. I peered around his body to confirm the sighting. It looked like a cave alright. I nod my head in acknowledgement and jogged over into the mouth, Andy following not too far behind.

"Shit it's dark. Lemme get me phone out and light up this place."

Several sounds of ruffling soon came from Andy's direction until a small "Yes!" was heard.

"Okay! Flashlight... Flashlight... Ah! There it is!"

The room was engulfed in a small, but bright flash coming from Andy's phone, highlighting the walls and floor of the cave for the two of us to see. The cave has seen its fair share of human influence, with several dried puddles of blood staining several sections of the rocky terrain that is the floor. There also seems to be some black residue further in. Most likely the remains of a long lost fire. We ventured forth, eyeing the floor for any changes or gaps until the rocks gave way to a much more natural sight.

Soil. Andy seems rather relieved at this revelation as his shoulders slowly loosened up.

"Thank god! If I had to see any more blood I might've hurled!"

Ahhh, Andy. Deep inside that tough guy exterior, lies the lovable brother that I know.

Soon, roots starts to emerge from the depths of the soil leading us to the one-way entrance that is the hole. One short glance down the hole should confirm that if anyone were to fall down, they would not have the most pleasant of experiences.

But this hole aims to surprise.

"Fuck me that's a deep hole."

Andy exclaims, pointing the makeshift flashlight into the abyss, before turning to me.

"You sure this is the best way?"

I sigh, removing my bag and placing it on the soil.

"I've fallen into this hole before, and I survived, so we shouldn't have any problems. Besides,"

I unzip the bag and pull out two pillows, the soft glow of Andy's phone aiding me in the action.

"We've got these to 'cushion' our fall."

Andy's look of concern soon morphed into sheer horror. I can't help but give off a large grin at this. It's always amusing to throw a pun or two at him. The responses you obtain from him are priceless to say the least.

"Really Frisk? A fucking cushion pun?"

"I'm sorry if that pun fell a bit flat."

My grin widens even more as I drop the pillows down into the hole. A faint 'thud' that can be heard from below confirming that they have reached their destination.

"Ugggghhhh... Screw this! I'm jumping in before you go into 'pun mode' again!"

Andy quipped, before handing his mobile over to me with the flashlight still on, and jumped.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHhhhhh ssssssssssshhhhhiiii..."

I chuckle lightly at the girlish screams that my brother made before placing my bag back onto my shoulder. I unlocked Andy's phone and promptly turned the flashlight off, reducing everything to a solid black.

 _It's time._

I jump, allowing the whistling strands of air to pass through me as I descended deeper into the hole.

And then-.

 **THUD**.


	3. Home Away From Hove

**A Wild Minun here, this should've been done and dusted yesterday but... uh... work happened. This chapter might be a little rough round the edges but nevertheless enjoy. UnderTale belongs to Toby Fox while Horrortale belongs to Sour Apple Studios.**

* * *

(Andreas' PoV)

"-SSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIITTTTT!"

 **THUD**

Damn that hurts! Well, at least I didn't die, break a bone or something else like that. I look around the room that I fell in. It's about as dark as the cave above save for some buttercups, which seem to have some sort of holy presence shining on them. Weird... Right next to them, on the complete opposite side to me, are the pillows that Frisk threw down. I sigh and pulled out my bag to check for any wear and tear. Nope, nothing too broken. At least that's a good thing going for me here.

(rumble)

See Frisk? This is what happens when you use breakfast to get me out of bed. I get hungry! Groaning in annoyance at my devil of a brother, I unzipped my bag and pulled out the first piece of food that I find, using the random light shining on the flowerbed as help. A snickers bar, huh. Well, you know what they say? You're not you when you're hungry! I stood up while munching on the chocolate bar, to go and explore the place. What else could I do while I wait for Frisk? It's not like I have my phone on with me, I gave it to Frisk so he could see in the cave.

Okay, first place to inspect is the bed of flowers, seeing that it's the only place where I can actually see what I'm looking at, besides, I need to go get the pillows for some revenge. The flowers do look pretty well kept if I do say so myself. Clearly someone must be looking after them pretty darn often for these to thrive in a place like this. There does seem to be one buttercup bigger than the others though. I lean closer to prod the big flower a couple of times. I wasn't exactly expecting said big flower to turn around and stare me down for a minute with its massive eye.

"Howdy."

Who the hell uses 'howdy' when they meet someone? This isn't the wild west for fucks sake! The flower stares into my very being, probably waiting for me to respond. That reminds me, I swear Frisk told me about a flower who attacked and lied to him in the Underground. What did he call it? Flowee? Flowery? I glance back at the flower, who was just idling by. Yep, he's definitely waiting for me to talk. May as well I guess.

"Errrr... Hi?"

The flower swayed back and forth, blinking once before responding.

"You don't seem scared of me. I'm guessing you fell here by accident?"

This is too awkward. I look upwards towards the light. You're taking your sweet ass time aren't ya Frisk? I got sent back to the world of reality when the flower slapped me in the face.

"The fuck!?"

"You must have fallen here on purpose. You clearly seem like the crazy or weird type of human."

Weird!? I've just been called weird and crazy by a fucking talking one-eyed buttercup. My pride has been shattered to smithereens now. What have I done to deserve this!? The flower, recognising my clear anguish at being absolutely mugged off by a talking plant, shuffled its petals worriedly.

"Sorry! I wasn't trying to be mean or any-"

The flower was cut off by a familiar 17-year old landing directly on top of it, creating a pretty darn satisfying **THUD**. I bolted towards Frisk to help him up.

"The hell took you so long, Frisky?"

The boy in the signature striped jumper just looked at me and shrugs. Well, at least he dealt with the flower problem. That couldn't get anymore awkward then it was already. The soil between us ruptured and revealed the same. Fucking. Flower. Son of a-

"Hey! Watch where you land, **IDIOT!** "

Seems like the flower's pissed at Frisk now. I stepped back and prepared for the fight to start.

It didn't. Instead the flower decided to check Frisk out which was... err... weird?, and recoiled back, its only eye widening.

"F-frisk!?"

The flower knows Frisk? That must mean-

"Flowey? You seem to have changed quite a bit. You're not trying trying to murder random humans who fell for a change."

Frisk bantered with a sly smirk. He can be such a twat sometimes but it doesn't stop us from being brothers. Flowey stared at the soil for a couple of seconds, probably still trying to recover from that burn that Frisk did to it.

"...uh... Can we not talk about that?"

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

Frisk's face seems to show some signs of worry, which is a first. I should be expecting the world to suddenly burst into flames or something like that. Flowey takes a deep breath, which I swear is fucking impossible as a flower, but hey, it's the Underground. The land of magic or some other shit like that.

"Ever since you escaped through the barrier 8 years ago, mu-the former queen returned to rule the Underground, placing a policy of welcoming humans as one of their own. But there was a problem though as several of the monsters living there were dusted by a certain striped jumper-wearing kid."

Flowey shot a glare at the suddenly sheepish looking Frisk.

"It was only the vegetoids, Muffet and Jerry..."

"I can understand why you killed Jerry. I mean, nobody liked him."

Ouch... I kinda feel bad for that Jerry monster. Flowey decided to continue.

"Anyways... Your actions of killing off the several suppliers of foodstuffs in the Underground caused the monsters to have a very big food shortage. As you could probably guess, the monsters weren't too ecstatic about the policy and decided to rebel, with Undyne acting as the leader. The rebellion was an immediate success as the queen got exiled back into the Ruins, which is where we are right now, other human."

Other human? Oh yeah... Me. Maybe I should give my name to Flowey.

"It's Andreas. But you could call me Andy. Frisky here does that all the time."

I point to Frisk who seems very deep in thought.

"Andy, huh... I keep that in mind. Back to where I was going. Undyne decided to create the Eat or be Eaten mantra as well as the policy to kill the humans on sight and take their SOULs."

Shit! Eat or be eaten? Killed on sight? We literally have just fallen into our doom. Well so much for a carefree stroll through the Underground save for Undyne. Looks like we ain't gonna leave so easily.

"Does Toriel know about this? We should try and look for her. Maybe she could help."

Frisk suggested, standing up from a crouching position, ready to leave, only to be stopped by a very flustered Flowey wrapping a vine around both his arms.

"Don't do that! All the monsters around the Underground have gone crazy with the lack of food. Just take me with you and try and esca-"

Before Flowey could even finish the sentence that he was on, the flower just spontaneously combusted from out of nowhere, only leaving the burnt remains on the flower bed. RIP Flowey. You had your... quirks.

"Guess we better get going then."

I looked over at Frisk who was picking up to burnt remains of Flowey and placing it inside his bag. I don't actually get why he's doing this but it's Frisk. I'd better not question his ways of thinking. Suddenly I felt something warm fall on my shoulders, like hands. It can't be Frisk. I'm looking straight at him. Which means...shit. It's one of the monsters. I'm so screwed... I turn back slowly to see the soon-to-be killer eye-to-eye.

"...My children..."

Well first things first. The monster is a she, that's for sure. She looks kinda like a goat woman if you squint your eyes, and she's wearing a dress that looks too many sizes bigger than herself. The dress itself had plain white sleeves whilst the rest of it was a light purple with some sort of pattern with triangles in it in the middle of the dress. The thing that catches my eye though is definitely her eyes. I've never seen eyes with that light a shade of green before. It's uncanny really. If she wasn't going to attempt to kill me and take my soul, I might've found her cute, especially the little set of fangs.

"Okay. That should be everything sorte-"

Well there goes Frisk, right on cue. His voice causing the goat monster to drop her hold on me and instead focusing on my brother. Yeah right, not on my watch. I readied myself to punch the goat monster as hard as I could only to be stopped by Frisk's stern stare.

"Andy. You do know that the goat monster that you nearly punched in the maw is Toriel."

Oh shit! I just tried to punch someone who actually cared for Frisk in the face! I feel like an absolute retard now. Oddly enough though, Toriel did seem pretty surprised at the fact the Frisk knew her name.

"You... know of my name, my child?"

Does she really not remember Frisk? She was pretty much the reason why Frisk still keeps wearing that striped jumper, for god's sake!

"Of course he does. He's Frisk!"

"I... do not know of a 'Frisk'."

Did he really not give her his name? You had one job Frisk... I shot a stare of pure disappointment at Frisk and he just stood there, face completely devoid of emotion. He's clearly having a rough time coping with Toriel's lack of recognition. There has to be something to jog her memory... Wait... The phone!

 _(6 years ago)_

 _Me and Frisk scurried upstairs to our bedroom as soon as we finished devouring our dinner. Frisk had wanted to show me something very special as he said himself. Naturally I was pretty curious at what he wants to show me_

 _The bedroom was a small one, only housing enough space for the bare minimum. Two beds, one cupboard and a dresser. The door for the bedroom did have a lock for some reason. As soon as I walked through the door, Frisk locked us inside then headed straight to the dresser._

" _Frisky. Are you just showing off you clothes?"_

 _Frisk didn't respond and continued to search through the clothes before settling on a very torn pair of shorts. Why was that there? He clearly can't wear that! Wait... What is he taking out? A phone? It looks pretty damn old-school if you ask me._

" _It's just an old phone Frisky."_

 _Frisk just shook his head vigorously._

" _It's not just any old phone. This phone was given to me by monsters."_

 _Frisk exclaimed, posing triumphantly with a massive grin on his face. But really. Monsters? That's just plain stupid. He's definitely hamming this up._

" _You got a great imagination, Frisky!"_

 _I exclaim, giving Frisk a pat on the back._

" _No, no, no. It's not my imagination! I got given it by a goat person called Toriel! She took great care of me when I fell in the Underground!"_

 _Frisk practically beamed brighter and brighter as he went on. But wait, the Underground? What is the Underground?_

" _Underground? Does dad and mum know about the Underground?"_

 _Frisk shakes his head again._

" _No. I kept it a secret."_

" _Why are you sharing your secret with me?"_

 _I asked. I can understand why he wouldn't tell dad and mum. They'd probably think that he's completely out of it! Good call, Frisky boy._

" _Cause I trust you! Please don't tell anyone."_

 _Frisk begged, pulling out one of the cutest faces to ever come from an 11-year-old. How can I say no? I hold out my pinkie finger towards Frisk._

" _I won't. Pinkie promise."_

"Frisk! Pull out your phone!"

I shout to him, hopeful that he knows why. Frisk only stood and gave me a quizzical look, probably mentally asking a question like 'Why?', before pulling the outdated phone out of his pocket. I glanced at Toriel, who seemed quite fascinated about the phone and decided to speak up.

"That,"

I point at the phone in Frisk's hand.

"Is the phone that you gave Frisk, remember?"

I directed the question towards Toriel, who stood, tilting her head in what looks like some attempt to look in her memories. Several minutes passed without a word being spoken. I had walked to Frisk during this time as we both stared at the potentially insane goat lady before the silence was finally broken.

"I... cannot say I do recall giving any child a phone."

Toriel started. Both my and Frisk's heads drooped down at the failed plan. Well... We tried...

"However,"

She continued, both of us snapping our gaze back onto the lady's maw.

"This phone does look quite similar to the phone I own."

And that's useful because? I sighed and placed my head in my hands in frustration. The hell do we have to do to get her to remember!? I snapped out of my thoughts as Frisk prodded me in the ribs, causing me to stare at him in confusion.

"We can't give up yet, Andy. I still do have Toriel's number saved on this phone. If I call the number, maybe she could put two and two together."

That... doesn't sound too bad of plan in all honesty. Then again, any plan is better than nothing at the moment either. I nod at Frisk, who started to dial in Toriel's number, 0001. Weird that it only has 4 digits but that's besides the point.

( _ring, ring...)_

No sort of ringtone coming from Toriel yet. Did she even have her phone on her? How does she store it in that dress anyways? Doesn't seem to be any pockets or something similar. Unless...

I blush heavily at the thought that just came up in my head and turned away to try and hide it. Unluckily for me, Frisk noticed this and decided to ask about it.

"Is something wro-"

A moved my hand onto Frisk's mouth to shut him up. He did just that and stared back at the phone.

( _Beep. Beep. Beep._ )

"Ugh... No answer."

Frisk mumbled loudly, earning himself an impatient stare from Toriel, who had been standing on the same spot for more than 10 minutes now.

"Now then, my children. If you are done idling around, please follow me. I shall take you home and prepare you a meal."

Toriel then held both of our hands in a vice-like grip with her soft paws, giving us no chance to free ourselves from her grasp, before walking through the overarching pillars into the next room which looked exactly the same as the first one except for the buttercups. Just darkness with a side of grass.

The next room though was an entirely different story, though. My eyes were assaulted with the colour purple. Nearly everything in the bloody room was that colour! The stairs? Purple. Walls? Also purple. Heck, I'm pretty damn surprised that the leaves and vines aren't purple. I peeped at Frisk as we approached the stairs. Was he petting an imaginary cat or something? Cause that's what it looks like.

"Uhh... Frisk? What are you doing?"

Frisk pulled his free hand away as we continued to be dragged by Toriel.

"Saving."

Uhh... What? Saving? How the fuck can you save in real life? By holding your hand above absolutely nothing?

"How do you even save in real life Frisky?"

"Well..."

Frisk started. It's never good when Frisk starts with 'well'. Usually means some sort of a very long explanation of how things work. We pass by a room with some pushed buttons on the floor and pulled lever. There's a sign on the left which I can't read cause we've already entered the next room. Guess I read it later then...

"Did that explain everything Andy?"

Frisk asked me. How am I meant to explain that I kinda tuned him out when I was looking at the last room.

"Uhh-"

Frisk cuts my uhh off.

"Don't bother. I know that you don't listen half the time."

Ouch Frisk... Harsh pretty much... Seems like Toriel has taken to a liking for my misery as well, as she giggled softly at Frisk's bantering skills. Yeah. Cheers Tori.

It only took until the mile long hallway for me to get entirely sick of the colour purple. That and the fact that I feel like my grabbed hand's about to fall off. Frisk's probably feeling the same thing as me. Apart from the purple. He likes all kinds of purple so much that he doesn't wear anything that doesn't have a bit of purple in it. But that's besides the point. We have to do something fast if we want to use our hands anytime soon.

"Umm... Toriel?"

I ask, a bit nervous about what could possibly happen if I get on her bad side.

"What is it, my child?"

"Can you uhh... stop holding our hands so tightly. I think my hand might fall off soon."

Toriel stopped abruptly and glared at me. Her green eyes meeting mine. I shrivelled at the stare a backed off with a 'meep!'. That stare was way too effective. I guess we have to endure this for a little longer.

After about thirty minutes of the endless swarm of purple barraging my eyes, Toriel finally released her grip on our hands. Guess that means that we're at her house then. I clutch my air-starved hand with my other and shook it, hoping the numbness would go away, Frisk doing the same. Toriel turned towards both of us with a prideful smile.

"Welcome to your new home, young ones."

She declared, arms wide. New home? I don't think that's a good idea... Before I can object, Toriel ushered us towards the house, the outside still fucking purple like everything else in this place. Oddly enough, there was no door leading into the house. How would Toriel deal with thieves? Then again, she could deal with them by giving that stare...

The inside of the house was coloured a dusty beige, a bit dull but it's better than purple. Laminated wooden planks were being used as the floor giving it a pretty homely feel to the place. There seems to be a staircase leading downwards into what I guess is the basement, by that there's a withered plant resting on top of a very dusty cupboard. The colour of the plant? Beige. I'm gonna hazard a guess and say that nearly every single place in the Underground only has 50 shades of one colour.

"Let me guide you towards your room, my children. I shall start cooking dinner shortly."

Well, at least we get a room here for free, huh. Frisk doesn't seem that bothered about any of this. I'm guessing he's done this before. Toriel then proceeds to escort us through the hallway and stopped at the first door to the left.

"Here it is... Your very own room! Now please excuse me..."

And just like that, Toriel scurried off, probably to the kitchen to cook something. Frisk opens the door and walks in, me following behind. The room was quite small, with only a single bed there. There is a bunch of clothes and toys for people much younger than us. She probably had experience as a parent or something like that. Frisk dropped down his bag and took out a sleeping bag. He came prepared alright. I jumped into the bed and sat on it, Frisk standing by his sleeping bag Now's one of the few chances we have to talk about Toriel without her listening.

"Frisk? Is Toriel usually like this then?"

I ask. She does seem a bit weird to be honest. Frisk hummed in response before sitting down on the ground and replying.

"No. Not really. She typically has more of a gentle temperament. She wouldn't be incinerating flowers or dragging children along like she did today. Her eyes were different too. They used to be crimson red instead of green. Something's definitely wrong with the Underground..."

I nod my head in response. I may not have been here before, but this seems much more different than what Frisk described it as. I mean, Flower- err... Flowey's not genocidal like Frisk said and I've seen nobody else apart from them two. Guess the lack of food supply must be killing them off.

"Do you think we can get Toriel back to normal Frisk?"

"I... do not know. Our best chance is for her to recognise me. That might help her trigger her old personality."

I hummed in agreement. This is getting too complicated. Food shortages? Crazy monsters? It's like some sort of crazy adventure. I need some time to think... I turn to Frisk, who was grabbing the container with the burnt remains of Flowey in it.

"Imma just gonna take a nap, kay? Wake me up when food's done."

"Okay."

I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, trying to sleep for a while before I slumbered off to dreamland...

* * *

 **Next chapter containing the 'wise old lady with a killer body and pawpads' (If you get the reference, you'll get a cookie) would hopefully be coming on next Monday.**


	4. A Bad Time to SAVE

**Andy: Yo guys, it's Andy. Minun can't be here at the mo' cause he's too busy being wasted at the one man promotion he... uh... had.**

 **Minun (Background) : SEAGULLS!**

 **Andy : *Sweatdrops* Uhh... Yeah... Anyways... Here's the new chapter! A Bad Time to SAVE! Undertale, Toriel and bro are owned by Toby Fox, while the HorrorTale Universe is owned by Sour-Apple-Studios!**

 **?: Andy, you forgot something.**

 **Andy: Frisk! Heyyy! What did I forget?**

 **Frisk: *Sigh* You're hopeless... Okay,** **TravisUmbra, my stats? If I recall my LOV-*Paper aeroplane to the face*-Oof! Who threw this!? *Picks up and unfolds aeroplane* Please do not reveal your stats? All will be explained at a later time... Well then... It seems like this rather convenient piece of paper has forbidden me to answer your question TravisUmbra. Well then... Now that is settled, 'lettuce' continue with the story. *Chuckles***

 **Andy (Background) : WAS THAT A BLOODY LETTUCE PUN!?**

* * *

(Frisk's PoV)

"Imma just gonna take a nap, kay? Wake me up when food's done."

"Okay."

I turned to the door and opened it cautiously, trying to avoid creating sounds to disturb Andy or notify Toriel, and left the room, leaving the container bearing the remains of Flowey and a napping Andy behind.

It's now time to be searching for answers. What could possibly have occurred that changed the residents of the Underground so much? While it may be true that the lack of foodstuffs may have a part to play in all this, it can't have been the sole reason for all of this. Naturally, the best location to uncover the most well hidden of secrets will be a reliable source of privacy. The bedroom.

Toriel's bedroom was only to the next door on the left from exiting the what can be considered 'guest' room. Unless if she moved rooms, which would be unlikely as there would be no probable motive for it. Steadily, I grabbed the doorknob of the door and twisted it, enabling myself to pull open the door to enter her room.

The room hasn't seemed to have aged or even remotely changed in the 8 years that passed, the only notable difference at the moment is that the room seemed to be coated in a thin, but noticeable layer of dust. Whether it could've been monster dust or regular dust is another matter. I walk inside the room, closing the door behind me, before briskly walking towards Toriel's desk.

Several items were scattered across the surface of the desk. The most notable being a... rather mature romance novel that replaced the diary that Toriel kept 8 years ago. Other items that were scattered were a pair of reading glasses, presumably belonging to Toriel, cloaked in dust as well as several contact lenses, which seemed to have a heavy green tint. This could be why Toriel has a different eye colour, but the real question is why. Why would she change her eye colour? I shake my head. So far this search for answers has only lead to even more questions being asked. The last object on the desk was an unpowered desk lamp, odd the she would have one of these considering that the house didn't look to be powered by electricity.

The bucket besides the desk that was previously used for the containment of snails was now empty. The most likely reasons being a lack of snails as a source of food or Toriel being incapable of collect snails nowadays. I pick up the bucket via the handle. The item felt rather light in my hands. This could be useful in the future. I made a mental note for myself to obtain the bucket later and placed it back to its original location.

The next place to search surreptitiously would be Toriel's bed, or rather what's underneath it. I approach the neatly done bed and crouched down to check for any items of interest. No luck. It's pitch black down there. I remember about Andy's phone that I 'borrowed' and its flashlight feature. I pulled out the phone and unlocked it, revealing a wide variety of apps such as the coveted flashlight app. I pressed my finger on the app and turned the flashlight on, causing the phone to emit a small, but sizeable enough beam of light under the bed, revealing... a set of syringes? A grabbed all of the items out from underneath, careful about making skin contact with the needle, and set them on Toriel's desk. There were five syringes in total, although four of the five contained no sort of substance inside. The fifth had a viscous green liquid within. What is this used for? Another question, and yet no answers. I neatly placed the empty syringes underneath Toriel's bed and slipped the full syringe into my back pocket, before moving onwards to the bookshelf.

The bookshelf, as you would expect, contained perhaps about fifty books at the very least of all shapes and sizes. Nothing really stood out to myself at first glance, just several cookbooks in addition to snail books with a few children's books dotted here and there. A pulled out several books indiscriminately to reveal some sort of handle. I tug the handle. No budge. I sigh in defeat and placed the books back onto the shelves. That odd handle may have been locked and if it is, there must be a reason for it. I walked away from the bookshelf and re-access what I've found.

So far, Toriel has been keeping very odd items hidden away for no prominent reason, such as the syringes and whatever is beyond that hidden compartment. Why would she hide something like that? The syringe must not have been used for medication if it was hidden in such a way. It must be a type of poison perhaps. If that's the case, then it'll be better if I kept this away from her. The soft, familiar smell of cinnamon wafting through the closed door snaps me out of my thoughts. Seems like food is ready, I'd better get moving. Swiftly, I moved to the door and opened it slightly, peering through the small slit formed in the process. No sign of Toriel. I pushed the door wide open, closing it behind me before I walked hastily towards the 'guest' room, soft breathing sounds coming from within.

I opened the door, revealing the contained remains of Flowey and the sleeping body of Andy. I promptly slid the container underneath Andy's bed and closed the door. Toriel really does not us to be near the poor flower. Granted, Flowey may have had his moments of genocide, but at this current moment, he seems to be speaking the most sense so far. I turn to Andy to try to wake him up.

"Andy, dinner's ready."

"...who's...afraid...of..a...dragon...just...a...big..ol'...lizard..."

I facepalmed at Andy's words. He's been playing too much of that game recently and has just killed a dragon in the game. It looks like it was quite a memorable moment for him, if he's dreaming about the scene in his sleep. But nevertheless, Andy is not budging. I guess I'll just have to move him by force. I walked over to the other side of the bed that used to be occupied by children's toys and pushed Andy onto the floor, resulting in a loud crash and a pained groan from Andy.

"Ugh..."

"Dinner's ready."

I say in a deadpan tone, gesturing towards the door. Andy unsurprisingly jumped up at the word 'dinner' and jogged towards the door before pausing to glance back at me.

"C'mon Frisky! Let's go! Food awaits us!"

Andy can be a simple boy sometimes. If the word 'food' is even remotely mentioned, he jumps straight into action and pursues the unfortunate victim whom mentioned the word. I sigh to myself, shaking my head, before walking out of the room alongside Andy. Andy only had to walk three steps before stopping.

"Uhh... Where do we go?"

He enquired, clearly having no clue on where he was meant to be going. It is understandable, Andy hasn't even set foot in that section of the house yet. I took on the role as a tour guide and escorted him through to the living room.

The living room looks to be the least affected of the rooms I've seen by age. Every single item being relatively clean and not a single layer of dust on them. Toriel was sitting at the what used to be large chair by the fireplace, reading an old favourite of hers, 72 Uses for Snails, without her reading glasses. Speaking of the fireplace, the flames did seem to be more chaotic than in the yesteryears. The dining table was off to the corner of the room, complete with three somewhat small oaken chairs. On top of the dining table stood a rather sizeable pie, gently steaming away, ready to be eaten. Toriel, who has now seen us enter the room, placed her book on one of the armchairs and stood up with a gentle but off smile.

"Ahh! There you are! I've baked you two a cinnamon-butterscotch pie! It's resting at the table, so please do enjoy at your heart's content!"

She exclaimed moving over towards the dining table before taking a seat on one of the chairs that were clearly too small for her. Andy and I followed Toriel and took our respective places, Andy adjacent to Toriel and myself opposite her. Andy leaned towards me.

"Cinnamon-butterscotch pie? That's... uh... different..."

"Despite how odd it sounds Andy, the taste is actually very good. Try it."

I move the large pie over towards Andy who proceeded to take a small slice onto his plate. I did the same, albeit with a larger slice before moving the pie over to Toriel. Toriel gently pushes the pie back before speaking.

"Oh, no thank you my child. I've already eaten, you see."

She reasoned, face slightly nervous. I raised an eyebrow at this response but decide not to press her on the matter and decided to cut up a piece of pie with the fork before proceeding to pop the food in my mouth, Andy following my every action. The familiar taste of cinnamon and butterscotch fills my mouth along with a very subtle bitterness before dissipating into various parts of my body. Andy's eyes widened, either at the taste, or at the sudden evaporation of the food, or maybe a combination of the two, before scooping another piece of pie with his fork and repeating the process.

"Hmmm! Thith ith thome good thtuff!"

Andy exclaimed, mouth full of pie, to Toriel, who was smiling brightly at him.

"Why thank you! You remind me of a child that passed by recently. He was rather energetic and enthusiastic about some subjects."

Andy, who was taking in the anecdote of Toriels, cocked his head. I took another slice of pie onto my plate and began to quietly eat.

"What happened to him?"

"W-well, I've sent them back home, once he was fully prepared. It's dangerous outside the ruins. Monsters may attack you out of the blue. It'll be difficult to let you two go, though."

Toriel ended the sentence with a hearty chuckle, before grabbing the now empty plates and walking into the kitchen. There was one point that bothered me. Fully prepared? What did she mean by that? Did she mean that in the same way as by getting into a FIGHT with her or was it by other means? I looked over at Andy who looked rather pale.

"Andy, are you feeling well?"

"I'm... ugh... alright. Just feelin' a little off."

Andy tried to reassure me, but to no avail. He clearly did not look healthy nor sound it. I stood up from my chair and offered my hand to the sick Andy, whom stood shakily and took it. We then proceeded to slowly walk back to the 'guest' room.

"Do you think... urk... that the dissolving thing that happened with the... ugh... food might've something to do with it?"

Andy asked. I shake my head. If that was the case, I would've been ill in addition to Andy. I reiterated that piece of reasoning to Andy, who nodded, knees trembling as we took more steps towards the door before I open it. I carefully led Andy onto the bed where he lay down and set off to find Toriel before being stopped by Andy.

"Umm... Frisk? Can I... uh... have my phone back?"

Ah yes... His phone... I fetched the small device from my back pocket and passed it to him, only for the phone to hit Andy straight in the face in a rather slapstick matter, resulting in a small 'oof' escaping from his breath. I'll have to thank him later for allowing me to borrow his phone. I walked out of the room in search of Toriel, who would likely still be in the kitchen, presumably washing the dishes. She may not be trustworthy at this time, but she'll probably perform better at treating the sick than myself.

The kitchen was not too far, it being the other room connecting to the living room. The kitchen is as exactly as you would typically expect, although the appliances may be a tad larger than typical human variants, likely due to the goat woman's stature of around the mid 6 foot range compared to Andy's 6 foot and my 5 foot 8. In the midst of the kitchen, stood Toriel, who was carefully drying the used dishes with a small towel, humming a dainty tune to herself.

"Excuse me, Toriel?"

I call out to her timidly, causing Toriel to cast her eyes onto myself.

"What is it, my child?"

Toriel inquires, her voice hinted with mild concern. I shuffle around for a second or so, before eventually deciding on how to explain the situation.

"Andy seems to be quite ill and I feel like you may be able to help him."

Toriel mulled over the explanation I gave her, before setting the half-dried plate that she held in her paws onto a counter, and turned back to me, this time with a much more serious expression plastered on her face.

"I see... Please follow me."

I obliged, following the goat woman through the hallway leading towards the door which Andy resides in. Upon opening the door, Toriel immediately locked her gaze onto the poorly Andy. His condition seems to have worsened, as shown by the struggling breaths originating from him. Toriel rushed to Andy's side, a face of worry that looked somewhat forced.

"Oh my! Deep breaths, child."

She tried to reassure Andy but to no avail. Worry began to creep on my face. How did Andy get himself in such a state? Poor Andy doesn't seem to be getting any better, face glazed with tears and sweat.

"I can't let you travel home in this state! You will have to rest until you have recovered your strength."

Andy could only manage a weak nod in response to Toriel's suggestion. My left arm began to feel somewhat numb. Toriel stood, from kneeling next to the bed and walked towards the door.

"Stay put, my children. I shall go and fetch some medicine from my garden."

She pronounced, before parting with Andy and I by leaving through the door. I turn to Andy.

"I'll try and find some medication as well Andy."

Andy nodded weakly again, this time with a nervous smile causing myself to smile back at him reassuringly before exiting of the room, catching a suspicious goat monster descending the flight of stairs which lead to the basement, not the garden. I followed Toriel after making a small detour to SAVE, the previous numbness from my left arm now spreading to my right.

The hallways in the basement were hard to navigate through, the natural darkness of the purple in addition to a lack of light playing a large part in the difficulties I've experienced. I made it to the corner of the hallway without much noise, Toriel just up ahead by the exit. Likely speaking to Sans judging from the message he left. What could they be possibly talking about that prioritizes itself above curing my brother? I peeked around the corner, attempting to eavesdrop the conversation.

"...dose...poison...children..."

Poison? Could it be? Did she put poison in the pie? If so, how have I not been affected by the poison? I glanced back at the formerly kindly goat woman, who was walking back. Not wanting to be caught, I begin to run back to the 'guest' room as quietly as I can to avoid any suspicion. I close the door shut as I breathed a sigh of relief as several beads of sweat drops from my face. I look at Andy, who looked unusually still. The only sign of life being the gentle collapsing and expanding of the stomach. Maybe this could be all averted if I LOAD? It then dawned to me.

I've SAVED after Andy's been poisoned.

I grasp my head, trying not to scream in frustration. Soft footsteps can be heard from outside the room, likely Toriel's. She must be 'obtaining some medication' now then. Now is all the time I have to find a cure, and I shan't give up! I walked out of the room, filled with DETERMINATION, as I start my search for the cure of the poison. But where to start? Toriel's room is out of the question, as I've already searched there. Wait a second... The syringe! I pull the item out of my back pocket before briskly entering the room again. I'm doubtful that this will work, but it's worth a go. I stab the needle of the syringe into the now unconscious Andy's neck producing several droplets of blood from the area of incident, before injecting him with the green substance, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Nothing... I curse inwardly and threw the now empty syringe away to the side. There has to be something else! I sprinted out of the room with urgency as I ran to the first room I could think of. The kitchen. I tried anything and everything I could on all the items that I could possibly find. The fridge couldn't be opened. The taps seem stuck, meaning no water. The cupboards were all locked. Nothing apart from dirty baking trays were inside of the oven. A feeling of dread soon overcame me as I tried to find anything that was out of the ordinary. Is there really nothing that I can find or even do? No, I can't think like that. I continue to search indiscriminately, this time with renewed drive, and spotted a handle similar to the one within Toriel's bookcase jutting out of one of the tiles on the wall. I pray to all the gods that I could think of and pulled the handle.

…

It opens, revealing a small compartment coloured in a similar array to the tiles. I pull out whatever was within the said compartment before replacing the makeshift tile back into the wall. There were two items within that tile, one being a small glass bottle shaped similarly to the life bottles in the video game that Andy keeps himself occupied with. Within said bottle lies a pale liquid. Could this be a panacea of sorts? I'm not sure, but at this moment I'll have to take the risks. The other object was a small brass key with the same pattern on Toriel's dress engraved on it. Without questioning the purpose of the key, I grabbed the two items and ran towards the 'guest' room.

I closed the door upon arriving and rushed to the bed with the bottle out. Andy was alive, but in a critical state. I pull the lid out and forced the liquid into his mouth until the bottle was half-empty. Now I'll have to play the waiting game again. Minutes pass as I waited for something, anything, to happen, but alas, nothing. I slump down on the side of the bed, hands on my face as I promptly sobbed.

I've failed him, my brother. I can't do anything to save him. I can't reload to stop the poisoning. I've saved after the event. I clawed my way onto the bed, tears falling on the soon-to-be dead body of Andy.

"I-i'm s-so s-sor-rry..."

A flash of blue soon assaults my now sore eyes before dying down.

* * *

 **Minun (Now sobered up): Being drunk felt weird... Oh. Ah! Sorry guys about another late upload. Laziness combined with the Albion's promotion delayed the story quite a bit.**

 **Andy: Damn right it did.**

 **Minun: Shhhh you. In case if anybody is wondering if there is going to be any shipping in this story. There will be at least one, but it's likely that it'll be two. One involving Andy and the other Frisk.**

 **Andy: Nice! Who am I paired up with?**

 **Minun: It's a secret, but I'll give you a hint. Avunculate marriage. *Walks away***

 **Andy: Avunculate marriage...? What kind of a hint is that!? Come back! *Chases Minun***


End file.
